Atmospheric and Environmental Research Teams with NOAA on Hail and Severe Storms Risk Management Initiative

Lexington, Mass, and Norman, Okla., September 7, 2011 — A collaboration announced today uses NOAA research and data to help the insurance industry anticipate and react to storm damage, saving time and money.

The alliance between Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) and the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) supports the research and development of operational weather risk management solutions for insurance and other industries affected by severe storms.

AER also announced the AER RespondTM hail analysis service, which leverages the NSSL’s technology and enables insurance carriers to reduce loss adjustment expense and cycle times by integrating property-specific analytics into the hail claims workflow.

The alliance combines NSSL’s years of research and development in weather radar technology with AER’s expertise in providing data-driven solutions that improve industry practices. As part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, NSSL provides AER access to high-resolution radar data across the continental United States. AER in turn provides critical insurance industry feedback and quality control assessments to NSSL for inclusion back into their radar algorithms.

Storm-related damage is a growing problem for insurance carriers and their customers, and can lead to increased costs. AER adds value through targeted scientific analysis and by building applications for businesses to pinpoint the location and severity of weather events such as straight-line winds, hail, flooding rain and tornadoes. The expanded real-time hail and rain capabilities complement AER’s existing services related to hurricanes, wildfires and other natural hazards.

“AER can process and tailor the extraordinary array of real-time U.S. weather radar data products at NOAA’s Severe Storms Laboratory,” said Steven Koch, NSSL director. “Their view into the insurance industry and other financial sectors combined with their scientific expertise will continue to reveal new ways we can apply our science to address the needs of the nation.”

“NSSL is world renowned for their knowledge and leadership in storm observation and prediction,” said Kyle Beatty, AER managing director for business solutions. “Pairing this data with the insurance expertise and analytic capabilities within our enterprise enables AER to provide a game-changing weather risk management capability for the insurance industry. An example is AER Respond which catastrophe teams can use to reduce expense and claims cycle times, determine resource demand and logistics, and validate the date of loss of each weather-related claim.”

This collaboration extends AER’s footprint such that AER experts now work with eighteen federally funded research labs. A hailstorm case study for insurance firms is available on the AER website.

About NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory serves the nation with leading edge research in radar, severe storm forecasts and warnings, and hydrometeorology. Its mission is to observe, understand, and predict severe weather in ways that will assist National Weather Service forecasters and help federal, university and private sector partners save lives and reduce property damage. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

About Atmospheric and Environmental ResearchAtmospheric and Environmental Research helps businesses and governments anticipate and manage climate- and weather-related risks. Large government agencies like NOAA, NASA, and the Departments of Defense and Energy rely on AER’s scientists to help solve weather- and climate-related problems of vital national importance in energy, environment, national security, and climate change. Large insurance, energy, and investment firms count on AER to help them decrease weather-related losses and increase profitability by integrating state-of-the-art climate science and weather information into their planning and decision processes. Established in 1977, AER is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics.